Hello! I'm planning to add two small rooms to my little house and I want to do most of it myself. I'm not sure how far my skills will take me, but for what I can't handle, I'll probably hire someone. I've been considering whether to hire an architect or structural engineer to ease the planning and the entire process. What do you think? Is it smart given that I've never built anything before, or is it wasted money? The rooms are two small square ones to be built with a frame on stilts, nothing architecturally advanced. I'll get a little help from my mom's husband. There are descriptions to be found everywhere... Yes, please share your thoughts on my project.
All the best! / Tomas
All the best! / Tomas
There is a lot to consider, primarily the roof connection to the existing house, to make it airtight (varying in difficulty depending on the type of roof you choose). Then, it will require a number of drawings and descriptions to the municipality for the building permit.
Member
· Västra götaland
· 335 posts
One tip is to do what we've done. However, it's definitely not the cheapest option. We hired an architect who designed the extension, which is 30 square meters, and at the same time, a new sloping roof over our garage, which had a flat roof before and needed fixing. We then had a construction company excavate and pour the foundation, erect the walls, and complete the entire roof with felt and tiles. They are responsible for the quality of the load-bearing parts, so I haven't had to think too much about that. After that, I took over and insulated the walls and roof, installed paneling, and am currently putting up the drywall inside. What I've learned in the past six months is that everything takes a lot of time when you're building during your free hours. I'm trying to maintain progress and work about 10-15 hours a week, but it's tough when there's a lot going on at work, and you have a wife and three kids. That's definitely something to consider before starting your projects. You can also use the ROT deduction on this, so I don't think the labor cost is extremely expensive.